Have you ever thought about how God moved Heaven and earth to get the Gospel to us? The Old Testament prophecies were clear that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephrata. (Micah 5:2) But Mary and Joseph were many miles from there and Jesus was soon to be born. Does this not sound like our God, working out His eternal plan just at the right time? The leader of the most powerful nation on earth at that time, Caesar Augustus, had sent out a binding decree that all the known world was to be registered in the city of their ancestry. This meant that Mary and Joseph were to go to, you guessed it, Bethlehem Ephrata! So, God effectively moved the whole world so the Savior could be born just as He had prophesied! (Luke 2:1-20)

But what about Heaven? Well, the Biblical account also tells us that this happened in two ways! First, heavenly beings that we know as angels, came to a group of shepherds faithfully keeping watch over their flocks and calmed their fears and then told them about the newborn Savior! They quickly went and told the story themselves! But secondly, God also moved Heaven in another way. Some wise men from the East were following a star in the heavens that pointed them right to the Messiah Himself. The Bible says that star moved exactly to where the young Child was so they could worship Him and bring Him gifts!

So, if God moved Heaven and earth to get the Gospel to us, it must be mighty important! And so it is. It has the power to change lives and eternal destinies. It has changed mine. How about yours? BBN BI has a course all about the Gospel; this may be just what a loved one of yours needs this Christmas. It is course number 00400 at www.bbnbi.org. MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Blessed New Year from all of us here at BBNBI!